Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Phlox paniculata cultivar Elisabeth.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Phlox plant, botanically known as Phlox paniculata, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Elisabethxe2x80x99.
The new Phlox is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of an unidentified selection of Phlox paniculata, not patented. The new Phlox was discovered by the Inventor in a controlled environment in Vinhega, The Netherlands, within a population of plants of the unidentified selection in 1997. The new Phlox was selected on the basis of its variegated foliage and pink-colored flowers.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by vegetative cuttings taken at Vinhega, The Netherlands since February, 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Phlox are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Elisabeth have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Elisabethxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Elisabethxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright plant growth habit.
2. Green and pale yellow variegated leaves.
3. Freely flowering habit.
4. Light red purple-colored flowers.
Plants of the new Phlox are most similar to plants of the parent selection. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Vinhega, The Netherlands, plants of the new Phlox differed from plants of the parent selection in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Phlox had variegated foliage whereas plants of the parent selection had solid green-colored foliage.
2. Plants of the new Phlox and the parent selection differed in flower coloration.